1. Field of Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of art encompassing earth-moving machines and more particularly to excavation tool assemblies, for example, of the kind comprising excavation buckets and excavation thumbs to which working implements are mounted thereon. The present invention relates to a detachable implement adapter that is initially coupled to a excavation bucket or an excavation thumb of an excavation tool assembly without the need for manual assistance. Additionally, the implement adapter provides improved excavation versatility by mounting upon various sizes of excavation tools and articulating attached working implements in multiple ranges of motion.
2. General Background and Discussion of Prior Art
In the past, implements themselves have been mounted directly on excavation buckets utilizing a unitary constructed implement fastened directly to a bucket with a plurality of manually connected fasteners. This attachment method creates a labor and time intensive process of installation or detachment of the heavy working implements designed to withstand the bending influence during operation. As a result of the implements' heavy weight, the manual labor of several persons is required to position and fasten the implement on the excavation tool. The unitary construction of such implements also results in costly replacement or repairing after appreciable wear of the cutting edge has taken place.
Examples of what is known in the prior art showing a blade implement for attachment directly to an excavation bucket, are as follows: Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 2,644,251, Discenza, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,043,032 & 3,181,256; Slaughter, U.S. Pat. No. 3,039,210; Hood et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,469,330; Bolyard et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,523,380; Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,529; Jarvis, U.S. Pat. No. 4,360,980; Webb et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,449; Cote, U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,351; and Von Schalscha, U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,825. Felstet, U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,512 teaches an excavator bucket with interchangeably detachable implements connecting directly to the excavator bucket. Jennings, U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,952 teaches a fork type implement for attachment to an excavator bucket. Timmons, U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,349 teaches a compactor attached to the back of an excavator bucket. Stormon, U.S. Pat. No. 4,087,010 teaches an apparatus for mounted hand held tools to an excavator bucket.
Implements have also been directly mounted on excavation thumbs of excavation tool assemblies. Cobb et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,501 teaches an impact rock breaker integral with a thumb-like structure. Somero, U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,435 teaches a brush rake directly attached to a thumb portion of an excavation tool assembly. Hawkins, U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,332 teaches a changeable and retractable implement for use on a thumb portion of an excavation tool assembly. However, the prior art fails to teach an adjustable adapter for mounting to excavation tool assembly thumbs of different sizes and the ability to mount interchangeable working implements.
Implements have also been attached to cumbersome mounting devices designed for a single excavation bucket. Lamb, U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,622 teaches a device for mounting to a lift bucket upon which a working implement is attached. However, Lamb's mounting bracket fails to have any adjustable feature allowing for adaptation on excavation buckets of different sizes. Additionally, the mounting arrangement of the working implement on this mounting device fails to allow for any type of articulation of the implement relative to the mounting device.
Finally, none of the prior art teaches an implement adapter for mounting on an excavation tool assembly where the adapter's geometry automatically holds the adapter at in a position to be engaged by the excavation tool assembly without any need of manual assistance. Kaczmarczyk et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,205 teaches a parkable grapple for attachment to a front-end loader holder, having a parking foot (ref. no. 102) for holding the detached grapple at a certain height for engagement with the front-end loader holder.